Behind Hogwarts' Walls
by black-lily73
Summary: Oliver Wood heads back to Hogwarts for his final year. No offense to JK, but hopefully this will be a more realistic account of teenagers, school, and love, among other things. Please RR! :)
1. Hogwarts' Express

*Disclaimer* I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters that are in the books, all I own is the plot and any characters that aren't from the books.  
  
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... actually, it was quarter to eleven, and I was hurrying through King's Cross Station with my mum. As we walked, she gave me the same back- to- school lecture she gave me every year. And, like all the years previously, I only pretended to listen as she went on about respecting the staff and doing my homework on a regular basis. My mind was elsewhere. I was thinking about the new training schedule I had devised for my house quidditch team. We were sure to (finally!) win the Inter- House Quidditch Cup, I was sure of it. Thinking about this preoccupied me so much that I was startled when I heard my name shouted out and discovered that I had already walked through the barrier to get onto Platform 9 3/4. Looking around wildly, I quickly spotted the Weasley twins grinning slyly at me. My face broke into a smile.  
  
"Hey!" I greeted them as we walked towards each other. "How was your summer? Ready to begin quidditch training?" I hurried on, without waiting for them to answer the first question.  
  
George clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Well, Oliver, I see you haven't changed a bit over the summer," he chuckled.  
  
I shrugged good- naturedly. I was used to my teammates razzing me about my obsession with quidditch. As far as I was concerned, the rest of my team wasn't dedicated enough to the sport.  
  
The twins and I kissed our mums goodbye, promising to write weekly, and got onto the Hogwarts Express. We found an empty compartment towards the back of the train and loaded our luggage into it.  
  
Moments later, a familiar face poked his head in. Inwardly, I groaned. Peering in at us was none other than Lui Marshall, a fellow Gryffindor and one of my roomies.  
  
"Mind if I j-join you guys?" he stuttered, a desperate look on his pathetic face. Lui was just about as uncool as you could get, though his looks weren't to blame. He had wavy hair that was dirty blonde in colour, and a slight gap between his two front teeth. I had even heard the occasional girl go as far as to say that he was, "sort of cute". No, it was Lui's complete lack of confidence and social skills that had resulted in his 17 year dry spell.  
  
"Not at all, Lui," I told him with fake enthusiasm as a look of great relief spread over his face. I proceeded to get up and help him load his heavy trunk.  
  
Sitting down again, I decided to break the ice between the twins and Lui. They weren't exactly on great terms since last term, when Fred and George had given Lui cockroach clusters and told him they were mixed nuts.  
  
"So Hufflepuff'll be getting a new captain AND a new seeker this year, eh? Who do you think they'll pick for those positions?"  
  
"I heard Diggory and Fitzsimmons are both going for seeker," Fred scowled. He's never liked either of the boys, Diggory in particular.  
  
Before I could answer him, another voice spoke up. "Diggory? Cedric Diggory? Man, I hope he gets it. He's got me hotter than Georgia asphalt in the middle of July."  
  
I knew right away who was talking. A tall, tanned brunette with pale blue eyes, Ayan's joking and laughter were infectious. I had thought he was quiet and studious up until about a year before, when he finally came out of the closet and admitted that he was gay. Right away, he had become more relaxed, outgoing, and personable. I was a little paranoid in the beginning, assuming every time he had tried to start a conversation with me he was really trying to make a move. When I finally realized that he, knowing I was straight, wouldn't try and hit on me, we became good friends.  
  
"Ayan!" I exclaimed, giving the Hufflepuff a High 5. "How was your summer, man?" Ayan had spent the summer in North America, working an internship with the American Ministry of Magic.  
  
"Slammin'!" he told me, settling down in the seat across from me. He began to tell us all about his summer with the yanks. This went on for several minutes, until the compartment door opened right in the middle of his hilarious story involving a "laundromat" and his first attempt at washing his clothing. We all looked up at the same time and smiled as one. The girls had arrived. 


	2. What's Your Sign?

Disclaimer- Most of these characters are not mine, they belong to JK Rowling. However, the ones you don't recognize were created by me.  
  
Standing in the doorway were the 3 Gryffindor team chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and- hold on, was THAT Katie Bell?!  
  
The Katie I remembered was a little peanut of a thing, with a messy blonde ponytail and clear, sparkling blue eyes. However, that Katie appeared to have grown over the summer, and not just in height. I flushed, cursing myself for having such thoughts about a friend. That's all she was to me; a friend. But I couldn't help myself. I let my eyes linger on her for a moment, taking in her curvier hips and firm, larger breasts. I had heard of summer growth spurts, but this was insane! Over a period of 8 weeks, Katie had become, well. hot!  
  
I dragged my eyes away from her and concentrated instead on the conversation.  
  
"Men who are Gemini tend to be very popular with woman because their nice sides and naughty tendencies balance out evenly," Alicia was telling the others. Alicia was a divination buff who deeply admired Professor Trelawney. Why? I don't know. Personally, Trelawney always gave me the impression that she was having drug hallucinations during class, which is why I dropped the useless course after my 5th year. I wonder why she never handed out joints. She appeared to always be fully stocked up.  
  
"Gee," Angelina turned to the twins. "The two of you are Gemini. How come you never have dates?" she innocently asked. Ayan, Alicia, and I chuckled.  
  
"This will be the year," George told her. "You just wait. We'll snag every hot girl who goes to Hogwarts."  
  
"So that means you three ladies are out of luck," Fred teased. Everyone laughed as Alicia slapped the back of Fred's head playfully.  
  
Once we had calmed down, Katie's smile turned into a frown. "Seriously, though, I find it unbelievable that you actually believe in astrology! It's just stupid guesswork," she scowled.  
  
"See, I knew you would disagree," Alicia told her, a half- smile on her face. She loved to argue with Katie. "You're a Virgo, which makes you very stubborn and logical."  
  
"W-what about me?" Lui peeped up. "I'm a-a cancer." Lui looked surprised at his own daring. Talking to a girl, imagine that!  
  
"Cancers are very considerate people, but they tend to be quite insecure at the same time," she told him.  
  
A long pause followed this.  
  
"Oh." Lui trailed off, blushing furiously. He quickly turned his attention back to the window.  
  
Katie turned to me, her eyebrows slightly raised. "What do you think of all of this, Oliver?" she asked, looking into my eyes. She held my gaze for a moment, then bit her lip and looked away.  
  
What the. what was that?!? Was Katie HITTING on me? Nah, it couldn't be. We were just friends. right? At that moment I realized that everyone was waiting for an answer. Smooth, Oliver, way to not make it obvious! I chided myself.  
  
"Um. I. uh. I don't know," I finally managed to spit out, trying to clear my head of the memory of Katie.  
  
"Your birthday is early February, right?" Alicia questioned.  
  
I nodded. "Aquarius," I replied, fidgeting slightly.  
  
She thought for a moment. "Aquarians are very loyal and dedicated people," she told me. I smiled. That was my attitude towards quidditch, that was for sure. "Aquarians are good love matches with Scorpios and Virgos," she added with a knowing smile.  
  
"I'm a good match for a Virgo?" I repeated, blushing slightly as I realized what that meant. Not that I necessarily believed in astrology. I suddenly remembered how I was trying to be neutral about this. That made my face even redder. It felt like it was on fire. Really, I was surprised that nobody tried to hose me down. Somebody change the subject, quick!  
  
As if she had read my mind, Angelina cleared her throat. "So did you guys hear that the Chudley Cannons are getting a new seeker?" she questioned, leaning towards the centre of the compartment as she spoke.  
  
Ahhhh,quidditch. Finally, a conversation that I could intelligently contribute to.  
  
"Yeah," I said excitedly. "Richard DeSlile's been booted. They're bringing in Chris Renaud instead. He's supposed to have incredible vision!"  
  
This comment lead to a heated discussion over quidditch players who have poor vision. I was arguing that in most cases they bring their team down, and, if I do say so myself, I had a rather persuasive argument. Just as Fred was saying that glasses made no difference, using Harry Potter as an example, Katie glanced down at her watch. "We'd better change into our school robes," she announced. "I expect we'll be arriving soon." She and the other girls got up to leave, with Katie bringing up the rear. Just as she was exiting, she turned her head and rested her chin on her shoulder. She smiled at me and then walked away. It happened so fast that I was sure I had just imagined it. I blinked, and got up to retrieve my robes from my trunk. I couldn't help but notice how all the guys were smiling at me. It was in a know-it-all way, and it made me uncomfortable.  
  
"Uhhh. what'd I do?" I asked, tossing the black uniform onto my seat before proceeding to take off my red t-shirt.  
  
"Oh, Oliver!" Fred shrieked, placing his hand over his heart. "Take me now!" he turned his back towards us, wrapping his arms are his body and making snogging noises.  
  
"What are you going on about?" I demanded, feeling quite irritated at him. I was playing dumb, even thought I was pretty sure I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about.  
  
George looked at me like I was a bloody idiot. "Blimey, where were you that entire time? Katie was TOTALLY hitting on you!" he exclaimed.  
  
I blushed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "No way," I told him. "Katie and I are just, you know. friends."  
  
Ayan raised and eyebrow as he unzipped his jeans. "Oh, really?" he asked, pulling them off. "Open your eyes. Katie executed her flirting perfectly. If I were judging a contest on flirting, she would receive a perfect 10. You know what that means, right?"  
  
"That. she would win the contest?" I ignorantly answered.  
  
Ayan rolled his eyes. "I'll tell you what it means, then. It means that she wants you. Bad".  
  
"How would you know?" I questioned him, knotting my tie.  
  
"I read a lot of Cosmopolitan this summer," he smugly replied.  
  
"Well." I started, trying to come up with a good answer. Think, Oliver, THINK! "She was probably just being friendly," I finished lamely.  
  
"C'mon, Oliver, it couldn't have been any more obvious!" Ayan practically yelled, the expression on his face suggesting he was speaking with a young child who couldn't understand a simple concept. Ayan took a deep breathe, and thought for a moment. He smiled.  
  
"Well, unless she pulled out a copy of Kama Sutra and asked you if you were interested in joining her book club."  
  
The twins snickered. I made a mental note to schedule even more early morning practices, just to piss them off.  
  
"So," Ayan began, adjusting his collar, "are you gonna go for it?"  
  
"Of course not," I told him. "I mean, she's pretty and all, but she's my friend. It'd be too weird. Besides, if I want to be playing quidditch professionally by this time next year, I have to focus completely on the game. I don't have time or energy for women."  
  
Lui turned around, looked me in the eye, and spoke for the first time in over an hour. "There's more to life than quidditch, you know." 


	3. Icebreakers

Chapter 3  
  
Sorry I haven't updated in, oh, 4 months, but I've been very busy with school and my competitive dancing, and I've only had time to actually sit down and write a few days ago. Hopefully, I'll get a fair amount of chapters written during the break. That is, if you guys read and review. So please, write a little comment for me! ( Thanks a lot  
  
Bloody hell. After the comment that Lui had made, I was too embarrassed to defend myself. The way I saw it, there was nothing I could say to defend myself. I mean, sure, Katie was an attractive girl, but who needs a woman when you could play Quidditch instead? I remained silent until we climbed into one of the horseless carriages. At this point, Ayan cleared his throat and made a quirky yet brave stab at conversation in order to ease the awkwardness of the situation.  
  
"I heard that vampires are bisexual," he announced, stunning us. Lordy, does that guy ever know how to come up with odd icebreakers! I mean, who says something like that?! Although, I must admit this was better than the time he tried to initiate a conversation by saying, "I heard your uncle's locked up in Azkaban. How's that been on your family?" The sad thing about this is that when Ayan speaks to someone that he's not close to, he rarely jokes or purposely tries to be rude. He honestly thought that was an appropriate comment, and couldn't figure out why he was given a black eye. "Yup," Ayan continued, nodding his head. "Bet you guys didn't know that."  
  
Fred raised his left eyebrow considerably high. "Where'd you read that vampires are gay?"  
  
Ayan frowned. "Bisexual, not gay. There's a difference," our resident homosexual informed him. "And it was in a muggle novel I purchased for leisure reading. Supposedly, it doesn't matter to them whether another vampire is male or female. They only care about beauty, and the humans they make into vampires are almost always chosen for their considerably good looks. Vampires want beautiful companions. They don't have sex like us. They are pleasured by exchanging blood with one another".  
  
"So a blood bank could be considered a hot make- out spot?" George joked.  
  
"Well, considering I've never met a vampire, I don't know. But if a cute one ever tries to pick me up at a bar, I'll ask him about it," Ayan winked. The carriage began to slow down. We'd arrived at Hogwarts. About time, I was starving. I climbed out of the carriage after George, and immediately spotted Katie standing about 10 yards away. She looked at me, and I panicked. I quickly turned towards Fred and attempted to make conversation so that she wouldn't know I was looking at her. It was immature, I know, but I didn't know how else to react!  
  
"So, uh, Fred. how about this fog, eh? In a Quidditch match, this weather would be a serious handicap to us. Clear skies are best for playing in."  
  
Fred looked at me like I was a total square. "I know that, Oliver. It's common knowledge. Blimey, unknot your knickers and go talk to Katie!" With that, he shoved me in her direction. There was nothing I could do now but approach her and try to act cool. I could do that. I practically wrote the book on coolness.  
  
I swallowed my saliva and walked the few steps that were between Katie and I. Right, Oliver. Be COOL. "'Sup?" I asked her, nodding my head. I could have smacked myself right there and then. 'Sup? 'SUP?!? Who says that any more?!? The Twelve Steps of Coolness? More like The Twelve Ways to Act Like It's Still The Nineties.  
  
Katie, Alicia, and Angelina exchanged glances before bursting into a giggling fit. "Not much, dawg. Word!" Katie joked as I blushed chili pepper- red. Great. Now I needed to was to find a nice, cozy cave to spend the rest of eternity in. I turned to slouch back to the guys as Katie grabbed my hand, still laughing. "Awww, come on, Oliver. We're only kidding."  
  
I stood as tall as possible and tried to look confident, which was hard to do, considering I felt like I was only 6 inches tall, max. Thanks, ladies. Way to make me feel manly. Still, I tried my best to conceal my embarrassment. "Ya, I knew that," I told them, trying my best to give a Katie a charming smile, which is easier said than done when u feel like a complete quad.  
  
"Glad you're not embarrassed," Alicia teased me, slapping my shoulder as we entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. I was glad that the first years were about to be sorted into their houses, giving me a chance to relax and the girls a chance to forget about my dumb comments. Hell, and I thought Ayan had bad openers.  
  
The first years entered the Great Hall, some looking around in awe, and all looking petrified. I smiled at a curly- haired girl who walked past me, but my act of kindness just seemed to make her more nervous, seeing as how she rushed past me, red in the face. Professor McGonagall stood behind the 3- legged stool, holding a parchment of paper. She cleared her throat.  
  
"When I call your name," she began, "you are to sit on this stool and place this hat on your head." She gestured towards the ragged Sorting Hat that was resting on the stool as she spoke. "This hat will sort you into your proper houses. You will all be placed in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Slytherin house, all of which have turned out brilliant, respectable witches and wizards." She paused for a minute before turning towards the hat and softly saying, "You may begin." The Sorting Hat stood silent for a moment, then suddenly the large rip above its brim opened and the Sorting Hat burst into song.  
  
'A thousand years or more ago,  
  
When I was newly sewn,  
  
There lived four wizards of renown,  
  
Whose names are still well known:  
  
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,  
  
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,  
  
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,  
  
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.  
  
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream;  
  
They hatched a daring plan  
  
To educate young sorcerers  
  
Thus Hogwarts School began.  
  
Now each of these four founders  
  
Formed their own house, for each  
  
Did value different virtues  
  
In the ones they had to teach.  
  
By Gryffindor, the bravest were  
  
Prized far beyond the rest;  
  
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest  
  
Would always be the best;  
  
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were  
  
Most worthy of admission;  
  
And power-hungry Slytherin  
  
Loved those of great ambition.  
  
While still alive they did divide  
  
Their favourites from the throng,  
  
Yet how to pick the worthy ones  
  
When they were dead and gone?  
  
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,  
  
He whipped me off his head  
  
The founders put some brains in me  
  
So I could choose instead!  
  
Now slip me snug about your ears,  
  
I've never yet been wrong,  
  
I'll have a look inside your mind  
  
And tell where you belong!  
  
We all applauded the Sorting Hat when it finished its song. Really, it was quite impressive how he was able to write such good songs year after year. The only time I ever wrote a song was when I was 4 years old, and it was about my imaginary friend, Datoe Mania. Needless to say, it never became a smash hit. McGonagall peered down at the parchment and began calling out names. The first years were all sorted within about fifteen minutes, and after they were sitting at their proper house tables, the feast began. It was delicious, as always. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Hogwarts' food. As I ate, I listened to Alicia and Angelina talk about the latest wizard band, Intense. Normally, I would use dinner time to discuss precious Quidditch tactics with my team, but I was too busy eating pork chops and lima beans to breathe a word. I figured I would talk to them at lunch the next day instead, seeing as how most of my teammates would probably sleep until noon, anyways. That's the beauty of Saturdays, they tell me. Well, that just makes me enjoy scheduling 6 a.m. Quidditch practices even more.  
  
Dinner finished quickly, and dessert appeared in front of us. Chocolate cake, cherry pie, lemon tarts. every delicious food you could possibly imagine! I began to load up my plate when I heard a deep growl coming from behind me.  
  
"Hello, Katie." It was Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and he was looking at Katie. Well, about 6 inches south of her face, to be exact. Katie looked disgusted.  
  
"What do you want?" she retorted, the look upon her face suggesting she smelt something foul. Well, Flint does have that distinct scent about him.  
  
"Katie, Katie, I only wanted to say hello!" Flint protested. He smiled coyly at her. "My oh my, haven't we grown." he murmured, and he placed his hand on her shoulder and attempted to casually lower it to her breast. Katie grabbed his hand before he could slide it any lower.  
  
"Remove your hand, Flint, before I kick you in the balls." Flint's eyes glittered as he pretended to be upset.  
  
"Katie, I was only trying to be friendly. Don't act like my hand on your tit wouldn't feel half- decent". Katie looked outraged.  
  
"You're dirty!" she hissed, standing up to look Flint in the eye.  
  
"Really?" Flint mockingly asked, placing his finger on his chin and pretending like he was thinking. He paused, then leaned in and quietly added, "Then why does my conscience feel so clean?"  
  
I couldn't take any more of this. I got out of my seat and stood between Flint and Katie. "Leave," I told him as I tried to look tough and intimidating. Flint smirked.  
  
"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?" he challenged me.  
  
"Touch her or I and find out," I threatened. Flint glanced over at the Head table, where Dumbledore was watching us closely. Flint was by no means a smart guy, but he knew enough not to pick a fight while Dumbledore was watching. He slumped away, casting one last, angry look in our direction.  
  
Katie smiled at me. "Thanks so much, Oliver," she whispered, gazing at me for a moment before standing on her tippy- toes to place a kiss upon my cheek. I couldn't help grinning in spite of myself. Wood, One. Flint, Zero. 


	4. Hands and Fingers

Here you guys go! Chapter 4! Sorry it took so long to put up, I'm terrible with computers and my friend who uploads the chapters for me has been too busy the past few days to do anything for it. So here you go! And thanks to Cho Look alike, your reviews were really sweet and inspired me to keep writing, even though there haven't been many reviews. This chapter's for you! :)  
  
I found the weekend to be relatively uneventful. I was up early on Saturday to begin my Quidditch training, which I spent pretty much the entire day doing. On Sunday, I slept in and spent the day roaming the school grounds with Ayan. I didn't see much of Katie, which bothered me a little bit. Was she purposely avoiding me, or did we just keep missing each other?  
  
I woke up Monday morning in a great mood. Start of classes, and our first team session of the season was that evening! I practically leapt out of bed and into my uniform. While I was dressing, Percy Weasley awoke. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and glared at me. Percy, this year's Head Boy, has never been much of a morning person. I usually tried to leave the dormitory before he woke in the morning, to avoid his wrath. This morning, however, I tried to be friendly and perk Percy up.  
  
"Good morning, Perce!" I cheerfully said, buttoning up my shirt as I spoke. "Sleep well?"  
  
Percy mumbled something inaudible as he rolled over onto his stomach to catch another five minutes or so of rest. I quickly finished dressing, and peered into the mirror. Great, my hair looked like a family of mice had been nesting in it over night. It was all over the place, and flat in the back. I sighed as I half- heartedly tried to fix it. Oh well, I wasn't having my picture taken or anything. I stopped trying to tidy my hair, which was proving to be as difficult as liking Professor Snape, and headed downstairs to breakfast.  
  
I was one of the first people down, which suited me fine. I spooned some porridge onto my plate, grabbed a few pieces of bacon, and began to eat.  
  
Just as I was finishing my breakfast, Katie strolled into the Great Hall. Wow, did she ever look good. She had left her hair down this morning, which was unusual for her, and it looked full and shiny. I wanted to run my fingers through it so badly, but I didn't think that, "You had a fluff in your hair," would be a good enough explanation as to why my hand was engulfed in her hair, stroking it repeatedly. I settled for picking up my napkin to keep my hand occupied.  
  
"Hey," Katie greeted me, flipping her hair back behind her shoulder as she sat down next to me. Oh Lord, it was the hair flip! What straight guy could resist that? No fair, girls could be seductive merely by flipping their hair, while guys had to actually try!  
  
"Hey," I answered, a mouthful of porridge preventing me from saying much else.  
  
"'Sup?" she joked, elbowing me. She grabbed a slice of toast and began buttering it.  
  
Awwww, crap. She remembered about the night before. I blushed, but held my head up high, swallowed, and answered her. "Not too much. I'm pretty excited that we get to start Quidditch practice tonight, finally! I spent most of the summer devising new moves and strategies for us to use, especially against Slytherin."  
  
Katie grinned as she bit into her toast. "Great!" I heard through the chewing. She swallowed, gave me another smile and continued, "I'm going to love kicking Slytherin right in the arse. Especially that Flint. Ohhhh, they won't know what hit them once we're through with them!" She slammed her fist against the table, without realizing my hand was there. This resulted in her practically bruising the back of my hand because of how much force she used.  
  
"Oh my God, Oliver! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize your hand was there!" Katie exclaimed as her eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open in shock.  
  
"Don't worry about it," I told her, trying to not let the pain show. Blimey, she must really hate Slytherin.  
  
Katie grabbed my injured hand and began to massage it lightly. "Here, let me try to fix it. It's my fault your hand was hurt, right?" Katie continued to gently rub my hand as I sat there silently, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to screw it up by making a stupid comment. The "'Sup?" incident was still too fresh in my mind.  
  
"Good morning!" Angelina loudly chirped from behind me, startling both Katie and I. Angelina, Alicia, Fred, and George sat down around us and all grabbed for the plate of toast at once. Laughing, Angelina and Alicia surrendered the plate to Fred and George and turned to speak to myself and Katie instead. "So what was going on here, with the massaging and all? I want one," she joked as she picked up a piece of bacon and begin nibbling on it.  
  
Katie smiled and answered, cool as a cucumber, "Ahhh, it was nothing. I smacked Oliver's hand and practically broke it. Accidentally, of course," she slyly grinned.  
  
George looked up from his plate. "Katie broke your hand?" He started to laugh. "Well, Oliver, there goes your sex life," he winked.  
  
Everyone snorted into their plate of food as I jokingly shoved George. "Whatever," I laughed. "My hand's fine now." I turned to Katie, "Thanks," I told her, smiling.  
  
"No problem," she grinned back.  
  
At this point, it was almost time to go to class. I skimmed my schedule. Hmmmm, Potions first with the Hufflepuffs, followed by Arithmancy and History of Magic in the afternoon after lunch. It was a decent enough schedule. At least I wasn't doomed to Potions with the Slytherins, like the 3rd years, and Ayan was in my class. I wiped my mouth as I got up to leave for Potions. "I'll see you guys at lunch," I announced as I stood up. I turned to the twins and scolded, "DON'T get in trouble! I can't have you missing any Quidditch practices because of a bloody detention!"  
  
Fred turned to look at George, wide eyed. "Us? Get in trouble?" he said in a shocked tone of voice. "Nooo!" he grinned.  
  
I tried to give them a stern look, but burst out laughing. Those guys are too funny. Really, the two of them and Ayan should consider going into theatre. If only they could sing.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
We were halfway through Potions, which, as usual, was about as much fun as having your bones magically re-grown. Professor Snape gave us his usual (to paraphrase) "You're all idiots, die faster," speech in his monotone voice, before proceeding to write down the ingredients for a Mojo Potion, which he told us was used for older wizards who didn't quite have their libido anymore. Ayan and I partnered up, and as we worked, I told him about Katie and the hand massage. He gave me a jealous look as he sliced the ziggurat. "Man, I wish I could get a massage. Not that my shoulders necessarily need one. However, I'm sure I could find an adequate spot." he sighed as he glanced over at Cedric Diggory. Ayan's been crazy about Cedric since 'forever', in his own words. He's been convinced that Cedric is really homosexual, and will come out of the closet 'with time'. Although I would never say anything, I don't think he should hold his breath over that one.  
  
I stirred the potion and didn't say anything. I couldn't stop thinking about Katie and the way I felt when she touched me. It had sent shivers through my body- but it was a good feeling. I wanted her to touch me again, even if it was just when she handed me something. I began thinking about the different ways to subtly touch her at lunch when Ayan nudged me, stirring me out of my daydream. He pressed a finger to his lips, motioning me to be quiet, and pulled something out of his pocket.  
  
It was a knut, shiny and bronze. He rubbed it between two fingers and stared intently at Snape, who was helping Sarah Keen measure out the precise amount of dragon spine for her potion. In one quick, fluid movement, he flicked the coin across the room and into her cauldron. The potion splashed quietly, and a few drops were spilt onto Sarah's lap. She looked up at Snape, and began to giggle. Snape frowned down at her. "What is it?" he demanded in his quiet, threatening way that was infamous at the school.  
  
Sarah began to giggle even harder. "Oh you!" she squealed, running her fingers through Snape's dark, greasy hair. Snape jumped back, alarmed. He furrowed his brow and glared at the girl, who had gotten out of her seat and was approaching him slyly.  
  
Professor Snape is a smart man, and I could see that he quickly put two and two together. He swiftly walked over to his storage cupboard and began rummaging through it, apparently looking for some sort of antidote. As he leant over, searching the bottom shelves, Sarah quietly approached him and pinched his bum. Snape must have jumped five feet into the air, almost hitting his head off of the dungeon ceiling. It was hilarious! The class shrieked with laughter as Snape's searching became more frantic. He finally found what he was looking for, and splashed Sarah with it right in the face without a moment's hesitation. Sarah sputtered, her face and the front of her robes drenched.  
  
Snape sent Sarah to the nurse, and once she left, he strolled to the front of class, the same way he did every day. He slowly looked at each of us, like a bird searching for prey. I gulped.  
  
"Who did that?" he quietly asked, his eyes piercing us like daggers. No one replied or even met his glance. Snape raised his eyebrow so slowly, I swear he was moving in slow motion. "The item that was tossed into Sarah's cauldron must have been thrown by someone. Peeves is not in this room right now. It must have been one of you." Once again, no one spoke. I didn't even dare to breathe; for fear that he would assume my movement was a confession.  
  
"Which one of you did it?" he questioned again, speaking slightly louder. No one stirred. Snape smiled at us. An evil, deceptive, fake kind of smile. It was the kind of smile that could scare anyone senseless. I suppressed a shudder.  
  
"Don't be fooled," he spoke quietly, sounding almost like he was speaking to himself. "They who did it will pay the consequences. The culprit will be fingered, and I WILL finger the culprit." The only sound was Snape's short, shallow breathing. "Class dismissed."  
  
We quickly cleaned our apparatuses, and filed out of the room as fast as our feet would carry us. Once we were out of earshot, the entire class began to laugh.  
  
"The culprit will be fingered, and I WILL finger the culprit," Ayan mimicked, imitating Snape's movements to a tee. He smirked. "Well, I think Sarah would have happily been fingered right there and then." I could barely breathe, I was laughing so hard. Well, no one could say it hadn't been an enjoyable first day back to classes. 


	5. Back to Quidditch

So sorry that this chapter is short and, well. not funny, to put it bluntly. I figured since Oliver is so serious about Quidditch, that I should make the chapter serious. But don't worry; I'm going to do my best to make the next chapter a humorous one. Please keep reading! :)  
  
It was approximately 6:30 p.m. when I briskly walked to the Quidditch playing fields, feeling the ground squish beneath my feet due to the light rain we received in the morning. Practice wasn't until quarter after 7, but I was too excited to stay in the common room until then.  
  
I know this makes me sound like a desperate, obsessed fanatic, but I love Quidditch with all of my heart. Really, I do. Ever since my Uncle Curtis gave me my first broom as a 5th birthday present, I've been addicted. Quidditch is the only thing that can really relax me yet exhilarate me at the same time. It's like a drug, only it's not illegal.  
  
I was already dressed in my Quidditch robes, so once I got to the Quidditch field, I got onto my broom without hesitation and flew up into the air. I circled the grounds a few times, varying my speed from slow to fast. After all, I wasn't warmed up, and I didn't want to pull anything.  
  
After a few laps, I noticed Katie and Alicia on the field, waving up towards me. I slowed down and lowered my broom to the ground, landing gracefully. The girls smiled at me.  
  
"Looking good, Oliver," Alicia complimented me, giving me a smile as she pulled out her ponytail elastic and tried to pull her hair back tighter.  
  
"VERY good," Katie breathed, her mouth opened slightly, almost seductively. I drew in a breath. She's PLAYING with you, Oliver! I scolded myself. Think of her as your opponent and play back!  
  
I grinned back at her, cocking my head slightly. "Well, I'm not the only one here who looks good tonight," I drawled, almost lazily, as I raised an eyebrow and blinked slightly slower than a usually would.  
  
Katie blushed at my comment, biting her lip to keep from smiling. V-I-C-T-O- R-Y! "Thanks," she thanked me, looking down at her feet.  
  
"I'm talking to Alicia," I joked, taking it too far. Katie looked crestfallen briefly, but quickly replaced her hurt look with a look of confident arrogance. She shoved me.  
  
"Awwww, shut it," she kidded, without a trace of hurt in her voice.  
  
"I was only kidding," I assured her. "You look beautiful. As always."  
  
Dammitt. I instantly regretted saying what I said. Not that it wasn't true, of course. It was just that I felt uncomfortable admitting it to her so soon. I glanced over at Alicia, who had shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from laughing aloud, although it was clear that she ready to keel over from laughter.  
  
I was spared from having to say anything by the arrival of the Weasley twins. Blimey, that was the second time that day that they saved my neck. I couldn't help thinking that I should try to go easy on them in practice that evening, as a sort of payback.  
  
"Hey, we can't come tomorrow night because we've got a detention with Filch," George greeted us by saying.  
  
"Yeah, for some reason he doesn't find dung bombs in the corridors as amusing as we do," Fred finished, nudging George in the side.  
  
What was I thinking? Be easy on them? Not even if they were the bloody Ministers for Magic. 


	6. Ice Cream

Chapter 6  
  
First off all, I would like to start this chapter off by thanking all of my reviewers, especially Cho Look Alike. You're too nice! I'm seriously smiling like an idiot as I write this, remembering some of the super great things you've said. Your comments absolutely make my day! Thanks to the other reviewers, too. You're a small but sweet group : ) And finally, I would like to thank my beta reader and the person I bounce all of my crazy ideas off of on msn, Sarah. Thanks for your help and I hope you enjoyed having a character named after you in Chapter 4! : )  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.  
  
It was Arithmancy, and the last class of the day. There were only 15 minutes left of class, and boy, was I looking forward to the end of the day, even though there wasn't Quidditch practice that evening. I had found the first half of the week to be quite hectic, and I was glad that I could just spend the evening relaxing in the common room. I could never confess that to my team mates, though. They would think I had lost my edge!  
  
Scritch, scratch. Scritch, scratch.  
  
The chalk was noisy against the surface of the blackboard as my teacher, Professor Vector, wrote out the final example for the lesson down for us to copy. Arithmancy was an easy enough subject, once you understood it. You just needed to memorize many formulas and be good at answering mathematical equations. I was strong at both. Not all the books I read are Quidditch related, you know!  
  
I sighed as I picked up my pencil and began to write. I was in the middle of figuring out how x could be equal to the square root of seventeen when suddenly there was a knock at the door.  
  
Professor Dumbledore stood there, looking like his usual intimidating- yet- kind self. He gave us a gentle smile, and motioned for Professor Vector to come speak with him. The two men stood outside the door, talking in hushed, serious voices. Professor Vector summoned his briefcase and a stack of papers, shook Dumbledore's hand, and left.  
  
Our class sat in silence, looking towards the doorway, where Dumbledore still stood. He began to speak to our class in his gentle, soothing way. "Well, I'm afraid Professor Vector won't be with us for the next three days or so," he announced. "His dear mother has just passed away, and he needs to be at home with his family. I hope you will all keep him and his family in your prayers." We continued to sit motionless, gazing at Dumbledore, who continued talking. "I'll do my best to find you a substitute teacher. Oh dear, and on what short notice. I'll have to look in my files and." he trailed off, walking away. We remained seated, looking at each other. Were we dismissed?  
  
Ayan stood up, gathering his books. "Let's just assume we're finished for the day," he told the class. We murmured in agreement and, after gathering our belongings, filed out of the classroom.  
  
I walked a little faster to catch up to Ayan, who was at the front of the group. "Who do you think Dumbledore'll get to sub for us?" I questioned him as I ran my fingers back through my hair, making it stand up on its end.  
  
"Probably some old coot," Ayan retorted, rubbing his nose as he spoke.  
  
I laughed. "Wouldn't it be great if he hired some milf for the next few days?" I asked, even though the question was rhetorical.  
  
Ayan snorted. "A milf? Lord, who wants one of those? No, I hope it's a young guy, hopefully one with an athletic built, and a great ass. hey, maybe Dumbledore will hire David Beckham!" he trembled, his voice brimming with excitement as he pictured the muggle football star and he- uhhh, let's stop there. The visual is enough for me to want to burn my eyes out as it is.  
  
"Yeah, because I'm sure Dumbledore will hire a muggle to teach wizardry," I sarcastically replied, resisting the urge to smack him in the back of the head.  
  
Ayan's face fell momentarily. He thought for a moment, and then his smile returned. "Perhaps a Beckham look alike, then?"  
  
"Sure, and I'll bet he'd be willing to mess around with you in his office, too," I humoured him.  
  
Ayan turned towards me, an eyebrow raised. "If he's good looking, then it's possible. After all, all the cute guys are either taken or gay," he finished, a mischievous smile upon his face.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
The fire was dying out, but I hardly noticed from where I was sitting in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Fred, George, Lee Jordon, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and I had been sitting in the same seats for over two hours, chatting about nothing in particular. The atmosphere was comfortable as I casually shifted slightly closer to Katie on the couch.  
  
"I swear, rocky road is the most amazing ice cream ever! I would cut my arm off for a scoop of it right now!" George was telling us, his eyes glazing over as rubbed his left arm and licked his lips passionately.  
  
Lee good- naturedly gave George's arm a smack, bringing him out of his ice cream fantasy. "Oy! Easy, killer. I mean, rocky road is good, no doubt. However, I much prefer mint chocolate chip."  
  
"Blimey, I'm drooling just thinking about French Vanilla," Angelina announced, tilting her head backwards to look up at the ceiling.  
  
Fred frowned. "Vanilla? How boring."  
  
"How delicious," Angelina corrected him, looking to her left where he sat.  
  
"Whatever," Fred dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Have you ever had chocolate chip cookie dough? It's to die for!" He turned towards his twin, nudging him as he continued talking. "Don't get any ideas, mate."  
  
We all laughed. I began to wonder what people would think if they overheard us raving over a muggle treat. My eyes scanned the room. Most people had gone to bed, leaving only us, two fourth year birds I didn't know, and Harry's muggleborn friend, Hermione, in the common room. Katie must have been thinking on the same wavelength as me because at that precise moment, she let out a yawn.  
  
"Blimey, is it ever late!" she informed us, looking at her watch. Not wanting her to leave yet, I searched for a conversational topic that would make her stay and chat. Unfortunately, I found the wrong one.  
  
"You know, I heard that a popular wizard trend nowadays are nudist resorts!" I announced. Hey, if quirky icebreakers work for Ayan, maybe they'd work for me.  
  
Katie gave me a quizzical look. "Were did that comment come from?"  
  
I gulped. Obviously, Ayan's charm had not rubbed off on me. I needed to come back with a witty remark. "Well," I began, scratching my thigh as I spoke, "I was thinking that my favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate."  
  
"And. that connects to nudist resorts how?" she questioned me, the expression on her face suggesting I was an idiot.  
  
"I was thinking it'd be great if you put some on my abs and slowly licked it off," I lazily finished in a suggestive tone of voice, raising my eyebrow seductively as I spoke.  
  
Katie gazed at me for what felt like a minute, before gently shaking her head and heading upstairs to her dormitory. Alicia and Angelina followed after her, murmuring their goodnights. I sighed as I hung my head and bit my thumb. I had been too upfront. I knew it. Likely story. I didn't even know whether or not Katie liked me, and I blew any chance, as far as I could see, by making some cheap, sexual remark to her.  
  
"Hey, Oliver?" George spoke after the girls were gone.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked, looking over at him.  
  
Using his wand, George transfigured his right hand into a water pistol and shot a small amount of water directly into my face. I knew immediately what he was trying to communicate. I got shot down.  
  
~ * ~ A/N-- I used the term, "milf," to mean a slutty, older woman who seduces younger men. I can't think of a better way to describe it... Basically, have you guys ever seen American Pie? Two Words: Stiffler's Mom. 


End file.
